Engaging Local Units in Advocacy

2014 National PTA Legislative Conference

Presenters

Brian Bonner, Vice Chair, Legislative CommitteeYvonne Johnson, Federal Legislative Chair,

Delaware PTAErica Lue, Advocacy Coordinator, National PTA

Overview of Workshop GoalsAt the end of the workshop, you will know how

to:

Discuss PTA RelevanceCreate an Advocacy Plan

Use a Strategy ChartSuccessfully Build Relationships

with Local PTA Leaders

Continuing PTA Relevance

PTA Advocacy: A Legacy in Leadership

Continuing PTA Relevance

It is important to be able to discuss the past successes of your state PTA so that local units know your advocacy relevancy. Keep track of

successes and let your state’s local units know when you achieve a policy win!

More importantly, though, is being able to tell members what you are doing now. To engage local units, you must be able to show them that your PTA is continually relevant to both the state as a whole, but local units as well.

What is Relevancy?How do we define relevancy?• Relevance: the relation of something to the

matter at hand.

To remain relevant to your local units, your state PTA must ensure that it is addressing the “matters at hand.”

Think:What is your state PTA doing to tackle issues that local units find relevant?

Creating an Advocacy Plan

Taking the fear out of advocacy: how do we do this?• Advocacy: public support for or recommendation

of a particular cause or policy.

For the purposes of PTA Advocacy, this simply means speaking up for children.

What does this look like?Attending Parent-Teacher Conferences, speaking at a school board meeting, or gathering community support for school millage funding are all forms of advocacy.

Creating an Advocacy Plan

How do you reassure your members that advocacy is not something to fear?

Simplifying advocacy:• pursue relevant issues that impact local districts

• have an advocacy plan in place• outline tactics that utilize member skills

Advocacy does not always involve speaking with Congress; in fact, it rarely does.

Choosing an IssueBuild major campaigns around issues that local

schools care about.

Remember: keep your PTA relevant by tackling the matters at hand.

Question: What are some issues that your local units and school districts

care about?

The Strategy Chart

A Systematic Approach

The chart can be found here.

Goals

The victory you want to achieve.

GoalsThere are 3 levels of goals in developing a strategy.

• Long-Term (Problem) Goals• Intermediate (Issue) Goals• Short-Term (Partial Victory) Goals

Long Term – may extend beyond this particular campaign

Intermediate – what you want to win now

Short Term – a step toward your intermediate goals

Organizational Considerations

What will the organization bring to the table?

How will the organization be stronger as a result of the campaign/effort?

There are 3 elements to organizational considerations:

• Resources • Organizational Gains• Internal Problems

Organizational Considerations

Resources: What will your organization invest in the campaign? Be specific. • Money: how much can your PTA/local PTA’s invest? • Staff:

o Both paid and volunteero How much time can each person devote?o What are their skills and strengths?

Gains: What will the association gain through the campaign?

Internal Problems: What internal issues does the association have to consider when pursuing the campaign?

Constituents, Allies, and

Opponents:

Constituents: Who cares about this issue. • Be clear why. • Why would the “target” be concerned about this

group?

Allies: Who or which organizations would support this issue but are not members of PTA?

Opponents: Who will oppose you?• Be clear why.• How will you prepare for this opposition?

TargetsTargets are always a person, not a board or group

Targets are always decision-makers who have the power to address your concern with certainty.

Primary Targets:Generally, these are elected officials. But that depends on your community, your issue, and your intermediate goal. He/she is the ultimate decision-maker.

o Encourage your local units to suggest targets to you that they can reach out to. This helps gets them engaged with the work.

Secondary Targets:These individuals can influence or direct the primary target to act in your favor. Consider their power as leverage.

o Again, use your local units as resources in determining who on the ground would be most helpful to influence your primary target.

TacticsTactics are what the constituents (and sometimes the allies) do to further the

cause of the association.

Tactics are assigned to a specific individual or organization.

They are creative.

They demonstrate your organization’s power.

TacticsExamples of tactics:• Invite your local PTA units to find high school

students to share their views of your topic with the local school board

• Set up a meeting for PTA members and/or allies with a local, state, or Congressional leader

• Organize a state-wide demonstration or rally around a topic and invite local units to attend.

• Ask local members to send e-mails or call the target on a specific day to show unity behind an issue

Note: it is important to know what tactics are allowed for nonprofit organizations. Ensure that you understand the appropriate election and lobbying rules.

Using the Strategy Chart

Using the Strategy Chart: Tips

Choose to pursue an issue that is both within the scope of PTA public policy priorities and relevant to your local units. Ensure that you set appropriate and obtainable goals.

Ensure that your organizational considerations are realistic and hopeful gains are fully developed so all members know the goal.

Reach out to families, parents, teachers, administrators, etc, as allies that have expressed interest or concern for the issue. Also, be prepared to educate families on WHY they SHOULD care. In other words, what is in it for them?

Targets are not always the opposition. The goal is make a supporter of the target, not anger or embarrass them.

Always use tactics that are family friendly and engage communities; NEVER purposefully alienate or anger any person or target.

Building Relationships for Successful Advocacy

Tips for working with local, state, and federal leaders, as well as families, and the community.

Working with Local PTA Leaders

Encourage your state’s local PTA units to invite their local, state, and federal leaders to PTA meetings and events.

o Elected officials represent their constituents, and most of them are more than willing to attend local events to hear from their constituents. It’s just a matter of letting them know what is happening.

o Offer to put your local leaders in touch with their state or federal leaders, if you have already built a relationship with that particular official

Invite local PTA unit leaders to meetings you are having with their state or federal officials. This allows them to get to know that person as well.

Encourage local PTA unit leaders to take advantage of the Congressional August recess, and offer to help them set up a district meeting with their member of Congress.

Working with Local PTA Leaders

Host an advocacy day at the Capitol and invite all local PTA leaders. Choose an “ask” that is relevant to current events and provide them with talking points ahead of time.

Ensure that at least one workshop or training at your State Convention deals with advocacy. This will help your local leaders feel better about speaking up.

Utilize the skill sets of your local leaders, families, and community members.

Clearly communicate the topic and strategy you are pursuing to your members. Remember, they cannot get involved if they don’t know about it!

Working with Local PTA Leaders

Be available to your local leaders. Ensure they know that you are there to

answer questions, set up meetings, or pay a visit to their district. Return e-mails promptly

and thoroughly. Cultivating a friendly, professional relationship makes it more likely

they will help with your state’s policy priorities, and is the best thing you can do to ensure that your local units are engaged in

PTA advocacy.

How Do You Make People Care?

• Take the fear out: if people know WHAT advocacy is, they are more likely to participate. Remember, something as simple as calling the teacher to talk about a child’s test score is advocacy.

• Build up your advocates: give people more responsibility in a gradual way to build confidence. Don’t ask a new PTA parent to meet with a member of Congress right away; instead, ask them to do something they are already comfortable with or have time for.

• Use people’s strengths: ask a parent who works in finance to prepare an easy-to-understand document on budget cuts; ask a parent who is more creative to design event posters; ask someone who likes to speak in public to be your spokesperson, etc.

How Do You Make People Care?

• Choose relevant issues: people are more likely to get involved on topics that interest them OR are impacting their own children

• Make it local and applicable: Related to choosing a relevant issue, bring the topic down to the family and community level. For example, if the education budget is being cut at the state level, figure out how that will impact local schools in a concrete way. Don’t use abstractions. If a school is going to lose 1 million dollars, tell parents exactly how many teachers, support staff, and/or course offerings will be lost in that cut.

• Tell people: Families cannot advocate for a problem if they don’t know it exists.

Questions?

Contact Information

Erica Lue: elue@pta.org

Brian Bonner: bbonner@capta.org

Yvonne Johnson: yvonne_johnson@verizon.net